NADH oxidase from Lactobacillus reuteri: A versatile enzyme for oxidized cofactor regeneration

Pyridine nucleotide cofactors play important roles in biocatalytic processes that generate value-added chemicals for the pharmaceutical and food industries. Because of the high price of these pyridine cofactors, cofactor regeneration is highly desirable. However, recycling the oxidized form of cofactors, especially NADP+, remains a challenge. Here, we cloned and characterized an NADH oxidase from Lactobacillus reuteri (LreNox) which can oxidize both NADH and NADPH. Unlike many other Noxs, LreNox showed equal catalytic efficiency towards NADH and NADPH. To the best our knowledge, LreNox has the highest activity towards NADPH as a substrate compared to other wild type Noxs. Homology modeling and substrate docking studies provided insights into the dual substrate specificity of LreNox. Gly155, Ser179, and His184 in the LreNox substrate binding pocket, which are absent in other Noxs structures, are crucial for NADPH recognition, providing more space for interactions with the additional phosphate group present in NADPH. We also explored the utility of LreNox for NADP+ regeneration in l-sorbose production by coupling it with a sorbitol dehydrogenase. The turn over number (TTN) improved ~53-fold after using LreNox as the NADP+ recycling enzyme. This study demonstrates that LreNox could potentially be used for the regeneration of NAD(P)+ in commercial applications.